Learning from the world. Inspiring change in the UK.
We are the Churchill Fellowship: a UK charity which supports individual UK citizens to follow their passion for change, through learning from the world and bringing that knowledge back to the UK. Together our community of Churchill Fellows use their international learning to lead the change they wish to see across every area of UK life. We were founded by public donation in 1965 as the living legacy of Sir Winston Churchill for the nation.
We’re excited to announce the launch of three brand-new Churchill Fellowship programmes – opening for applications on 2 September 2025. Building a society that cares, Building prosperous and resilient economies, and Making space for the arts. Each offers a unique opportunity to explore global ideas and bring fresh thinking to the UK on some of the biggest issues we face today.
We are deeply saddened to share the news of the death of Sir Brian Clarke, Churchill Fellow and former Advisory Council member and Trustee of the Churchill Fellowship.
We were thrilled to welcome our 2025 Churchill Fellows to London for their first in-person gathering, Connect & Inspire, to support them to begin shaping their Fellowship journeys.
We’re excited to introduce our 118 exceptional new Churchill Fellows for 2025.
60 years since the launch of the Churchill Fellowship, nearly 6,000 Fellows have been pioneering change across the UK. To honour their work, we’re launching a £10m Appeal to fund the Activate Programme, empowering Fellows to turn their ideas into action.
Churchill Fellows are a unique source of ideas from around the world for a range of issues across all areas of UK society. Read some of their latest below or head to our News and Views section to find out more.
Tim Woodhouse travelled to Iceland, Slovenia, and the USA to explore how to reduce domestic abuse-related suicides. Here, he reflects not only on the people and projects he encountered during his travels, but on the impact that followed – from giving over 100 talks to frontline teams and securing national media coverage, to influencing policy discussions and beginning a PhD. As Tim writes, “the years after you return home is actually where the power of the Churchill Fellowship can kick in – and where all the magic can happen.”
By Tim Woodhouse, 7 August 2025
Keith Ruffles travelled across Canada to explore how rural communities are using migration to reverse population decline. Over five weeks, he visited six towns taking part in the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), meeting with local coordinators, federal agencies, and migrants like Natalia and Mohammad, who shared their experiences of settling in Canada. In this blog, Keith reflects on what the UK could learn from Canada’s community-driven approach to migration, and how the Fellowship gave him the time, space, and connection to explore these issues in depth.
By Keith Ruffles, 31 July 2025
The Churchill Fellowship is launching a new programme – Building a Society that Cares – which seeks to find ways in which care can be harnessed to humanise services, build resilience and connection to communities, and reimagine how we prevent and address our biggest societal challenges.
We spoke to Churchill Fellow Elizabeth Carrington about her 1973 Fellowship, which took her to Hungary, Switzerland, and Italy to explore new physiotherapy techniques for children with cerebral palsy and neurological disorders. She reflected on how the experience shaped her lifelong international career – from India to Yemen to the World Health Organization – and why she still feels so connected to the Fellowship more than 50 years on.
By Elizabeth Carrington, 10 July 2025
Empowering boys to understand, express and regulate their emotions.
2024
Supporting disabled people to take up high-level positions in organisations through leadership programmes
2016
Improving dementia care through new teaching models for nurses
2019
Engaging young people in politics through innovative social action campaigns
2016
Engaging deprived urban communities in handball sports
2020
The Fellowship inspires change at many different levels. Fellows combine their personal vision and experience with their global learning to strengthen UK communities and sectors and influence services and policies locally and nationally. Many also tell us about the transformational impact of the Fellowship on their own lives.
Learn moreWe welcome support for our unique programme of Fellowships, which transform lives, communities and professions across the UK. You can help our work through donations, partnerships and legacies, which are vital for growing the impact and the opportunity we offer. We are always pleased to discuss ways to get involved.
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